An apparatus for use with a wearable cuff

Abstract

There is provided an apparatus ( 12 ) for use with a wearable cuff ( 14 ). The wearable cuff ( 14 ) is for use in measuring blood pressure. The apparatus ( 12 ) is configured to acquire a plurality of pressure signals. Each of the plurality of pressure signals are indicative of a pressure in the wearable cuff ( 14 ) during a period for measuring blood pressure. The apparatus ( 12 ) is configured to, for each of the plurality of acquired pressure signals, determine a measure of a quality of the acquired pressure signal based on one or more parameters derived from artifacts identified in the acquired pressure signal. The apparatus ( 12 ) is also configured to determine a measure of a quality of the wearable cuff ( 14 ) based on the determined measures of the quality of the acquired pressure signals.

1 . An apparatus for use with a wearable cuff, wherein the wearable cuff is for use in measuring blood pressure and the apparatus is configured to:
 acquire a plurality of pressure signals, wherein each of the plurality of pressure signals are indicative of a pressure in the wearable cuff during a period for measuring blood pressure;   for each of the plurality of acquired pressure signals, determine a measure of a quality of the acquired pressure signal based on one or more parameters derived from artifacts identified in the acquired pressure signal; and   determine a measure of a quality of the wearable cuff based on the determined measures of the quality of the acquired pressure signals,   wherein the one or more parameters comprise any one or more of:   a number of occurrences of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal;   a number of occurrences of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal that fall within a cardiac cycle;   an average time between occurrences of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal;   an average intensity of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal;   a ratio of a cumulative sum of amplitudes of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal to a cumulative sum of amplitudes of oscillations in the acquired pressure signal;   a ratio of an average of amplitudes of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal to an average of amplitudes of oscillations in the acquired pressure signal; and   a ratio of a maximum of amplitudes of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal to a maximum of amplitudes of oscillations in the acquired pressure signal.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to:
 determine the measure of the quality of the wearable cuff based on a trend in the determined measures of the quality of the acquired pressure signals.   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to:
 determine the measure of the quality of the wearable cuff based on the determined measures of the quality of the acquired pressure signals and information on one or more properties of the wearable cuff.   
     
     
         4 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to:
 for each of the plurality of acquired pressure signals, determine the measure of the quality of the acquired pressure signal by being configured to:
 compare the one or more parameters to one or more corresponding parameters associated with at least one wearable cuff for which a measure of a quality of the at least one wearable cuff is predetermined. 
   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the measures of the quality of the acquired pressure signals comprise:
 binary measures of the quality of the acquired pressure signals; or   probabilistic measures of the quality of the acquired pressure signals.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the determined measure of the quality of the wearable cuff is indicative of a suitability of the wearable cuff for use in measuring blood pressure. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the determined measure of the quality of the wearable cuff is indicative of:
 the wearable cuff being suitable for use in measuring blood pressure during inflation of the wearable cuff;   the wearable cuff being suitable for use in measuring blood pressure during deflation of the wearable cuff; or   the wearable cuff being unsuitable for use in measuring blood pressure.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to:
 determine whether the wearable cuff is to be discarded or replaced based on the determined measure of the quality of the wearable cuff.   
     
     
         9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the period for measuring blood pressure comprises:
 a period in which the wearable cuff is inflated and/or deflated for measuring blood pressure.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to determine the measures of the quality of the acquired pressure signals using any one or more of:
 a trained classifier;   a regression analysis;   a support vector machine; and   a neural network algorithm.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to:
 identify the wearable cuff for which the measure of the quality is determined.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is configured to:
 control a user interface to render an indication of the measure of the quality of the wearable cuff.   
     
     
         14 . A method operating an apparatus for use with a wearable cuff, wherein the wearable cuff is for use in measuring blood pressure and the method comprises:
 acquiring a plurality of pressure signals, wherein each of the plurality of pressure signals are indicative of a pressure in the wearable cuff during a period for measuring blood pressure;   for each of the plurality of acquired pressure signals, determining a measure of a quality of the acquired pressure signal based on one or more parameters derived from artifacts identified in the acquired pressure signal; and   determining a measure of a quality of the wearable cuff based on the determined measures of the quality of the acquired pressure signals,   wherein the one or more parameters comprise any one or more of:   a number of occurrences of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal;   a number of occurrences of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal that fall within a cardiac cycle;   an average time between occurrences of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal;   an average intensity of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal;   a ratio of a cumulative sum of amplitudes of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal to a cumulative sum of amplitudes of oscillations in the acquired pressure signal;   a ratio of an average of amplitudes of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal to an average of amplitudes of oscillations in the acquired pressure signal; and   a ratio of a maximum of amplitudes of artifacts in the acquired pressure signal to a maximum of amplitudes of oscillations in the acquired pressure signal.   
     
     
         15 . The computer program product comprising a computer readable medium, the computer readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code being configured such that, on execution by a suitable computer or processor, the computer or processor is caused to perform the method as claimed in  claim 14 .